Finding Yamask
by dianaglampers177
Summary: This story takes place in the near future. Ash is an adult, and was madly in love with Misty, who died in an accident. Now he searches for her ghost and a way to contact his beloved. Ash/Misty. Romance/Horror. Expect a little bit of humor too.
1. Lost In The Darkness

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon. I don't own anything at all.

This story takes place in the near future. Ash is an adult, and was madly in love with Misty, who died in an accident. Now he searches for her ghost and a way to contact his beloved. Ash/Misty. Romance/Horror. Expect a little bit of humor too.

Finding Yamask

By Diana Moon Glampers

Chapter 1

Lost in the Darkness

Ash sat among the piles of books, a look of frustration and despair on his face. "How long have I been at this?" He asked himself. "Five years? Six? Seven? Argh! No matter how hard I try, nothing!" He screamed. Pikachu crawled over to his side and rubbed up against his hand. The little guy was used to seeing his friend like this. Too used to it. Pikachu squeaked and squealed in sympathy. Ash stroked the mouse pokemon's fur, from its head to its tail. He sighed, surveying his pile of books, a pile of dead ends and failure. All those books were written by hacks and frauds. They had names like "A beginner's guide to spirit channeling", "Rei's guide to Black Magic", "The Art of the Séance"… So much false hope. So many lies.

"Well, back to the library, I guess." Ash said. He lifted Pikachu up onto his shoulder and shoveled the books into a backpack. He left the pokemon center he was staying at and went for the Fuchsia City library. "That was the last library in Kanto too." He said to himself. He walked toward the book drop and dumped them in, all at once. "It's awful, like I'm throwing away my dreams… again." Ash said to himself. "Yeah, becoming a pokemon master, that was a longshot. I was just a dumb kid… But this… This…" A sudden surge of resolve coursed through him. "No! I won't give up! Not on this! I'm going to find you, Misty! Wherever you are out there, I'm going to find you!"

Tears streamed from Ash's eyes like tiny rivers. "You were the love of my life. The love of my life, damn it! You weren't supposed to die!" He said. The children sitting outside the library started staring at him like he was some kind of wreck. Actually, no, Ash was in fact, a total wreck. He was a young man, but his heart had the burden of an older one, and he looked the part too. He was a dirty unshaven vagrant, broken by years of sadness.

Ash reached for his belt and picked up the pokeball that had his Pidgeot. In a flash, Pidgeot stood before him, tall and majestic. Pidgeot tried to keep up a strong appearance, but he knew well his master's sorrow and madness. It squawked at attention, like a soldier ready to take orders from his sergeant. "Pidgeot, let's go to Cerulean City." Ash said. He climbed onto Pidgeot's back. It was a familiar route, one too familiar to the two of them. Ash went there often.

As they soared through the clouds, Ash gazed at how high up they were. All the people looked like specks of dust, all the houses like tiny boxes. Ash had frequently thought about leaping off of Pidgeot to his death on flights like this, but all of them, Ash, Pidgeot, and Pikachu, knew he would never do such a thing. Joining his beloved Misty in death probably wouldn't solve anything. For all he knew, finding a ghost when you're dead too probably only made it harder. "That's not the answer. It can't be. That's too easy to be the answer. Besides who would look after Pikachu? And Pidgeot? And all the rest? They need me. I can't abandon them, ever." Thoughts like that often occupied his mind on flights like this.

It didn't take long for Pidgeot to take Ash to Cerulean City. It landed in a familiar place, the spot where Ash always wanted to land. They had gone here enough times that he didn't even have to ask, Pidgeot just knew where to go by heart. Ash dismounted his giant bird and gave it a warm hug. "Thanks, Pidgeot, you did good." He said. Pidgeot cooed politely. In a flash, he was back inside his pokeball.

Pidgeot had taken Ash to the Cerulean Gym, now run by one of Misty's sisters. It was here where Ash had met her on his way home from his adventure, the day he surrendered his dreams. He remembered it like it was yesterday. He remembered running up the steps inside, and meeting Misty's warm, happy smile. He remembered the joyful embrace they shared, the catching up they did, that wonderful, sweet, passionate kiss they shared, their mutual declaration of love… Yes, love. That was something worth losing your dreams over. When he gave up his pokemon journey, Ash had reasoned with himself that he was settling down to be with the woman he loved, the one he had always loved from the very beginning. Misty was only too happy to go along with this, since she had been praying on those lonely nights for Ash's return for years. They had lived together as boyfriend and girlfriend in the city, enjoying their happy, peaceful time together.

It was a short time. Too short. Ash strolled down the sidewalk, down the very street where Misty had lost her life. He always choked up and had to keep himself from crying when he passed that fateful spot, the intersection of Park Street and 4th where she had died. He couldn't always hold it in. Sometime he wept like a child when he passed that spot.

"Keep it together, Ash. You can do this." He said to himself. He kept walking a ways and crossed onto Boadview, the street that led to the cemetery. Ash found it painfully ironic that his beloved Misty had died on a street just one crosswalk away from a cemetery. It made him feel like the gods were playing a sick and twisted joke on him.

Ash made his way up the hill to Misty's gravestone. It stood in a row among the many others. He bent down, and reached for a small object in front of the grave. It was a recording device, dirty and weathered from being exposed to the elements, but still in working condition. Ash dusted it off and hit the button to play the recording. An grainy image of Misty popped up on the tiny screen. "Um? What do I say in this? Hm?" She stuttered. "Oh, I know!" She exclaimed. "I love you, Ash! We're going to be together forever, you and me! Nothing's going to keep us apart!" She cheerfully said. The recording blanked out. It was over. The recording was a romantic gift Misty had given him before she died. It was all Ash had left of her now. Misty was like a ghost, a memory and an image among a sea of darkness.

Pikachu climbed down from Ash's shoulder and gazed up at the gravestone like it was the specter of death itself. There was a sad terror in his eyes. He looked at Ash as if to say, "It hurts, Master. It hurts." Ash stroked the fur on Pikachu's head. "Yeah, what happened to 'Together Forever', huh? What happened to nothing keeping us apart?"


	2. Memories

Chapter 2

Memories

The memory of Misty's death haunted Ash to the bottom of his soul. It was such a vivid memory.

~0~

The day Misty died was supposed to be one of their happiest. Ash had planned something fun for Misty to do, something thoughtful, something romantic, a grand gesture of his love for her. He strolled into the Cerulean Gym. "Ash, I'm working! What is it?" Misty said. Usually she didn't like it when Ash came to see her at work. She wanted to be taken seriously as a gym leader, after all. Something about this day felt different to her. Smiling broadly, Ash had said, "Well, I wanted to save this for after you got home, but I just couldn't wait!" Ash said. Misty ran over to Ash. "Well, what is it?" She asked exctedly. "It's a surprise! You'll have to go see it outside." Ash said. The two of them rushed outside and came face to face with a blue and yellow Honda motorcycle.

"Is that… Is it for me?" Misty asked. "Sure is!" Ash laughed. "Remember back when we were kids, and I stole your bike?" Ash said. "Oh, Ash…" Misty said. "And it got destroyed?" Ash said. "You… You didn't… You remember that?" Misty stammered. "And you followed me around, swearing to make me pay? Well, here it is, Misty. This is your bike now." Ash said. Misty grabbed Ash by the body in a strong embrace, a so warm and strong it hurt a little. It hurt Ash more thinking about it afterwards.

Misty was overjoyed. "I wanna try it out now! Gimme the keys!" Misty said. She had always dreamed of having her own motorcycle, of the wild freedom one had racing across the land with the wind in her hair. Ash gingerly pulled the keys out of his pocket. Misty snatched them from his grasp with great enthusiasm and rushed toward the bike. "Wait, you should…" Ash started to say, holding a helmet in his hands. By then, the engine was already revving up, and Misty could barely hear him. "Hey, wait for me!" Ash called out. He wanted to ride with her. Misty was getting started too fast, though. The wheels were already spinning and she was already on the street. Ash laughed to himself. "Oh well. I'll just wait a moment when she returns." Little did he know at the time, she would never return.

Almost as soon as Misty had climbed on the motorcycle and sped off down the street, she went through a busy intersection and was slammed by an oncoming truck, head on. The truck was on the wrong side of the road. The driver was drunk, because of-fucking-course he was. The next few hours were all a blur to Ash. He vaguely remembered being in the ambulance as the paramedics tried CPR and dressed her wounds. No amount of CPR would save her, though. She was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

What pained Ash of this memory more than anything else, was when he was in the hospital's lobby getting ready to go home. He still had that motorcycle helmet in his hands at the time. He remembered looking at the inside, at the words he had written with a pink marker. He had written, "Misty! Marry me!" on the inside. There was a diamond engagement ring taped into the "I" in "Misty". When reflecting on this moment, Ash always thought, "Stupid! Stupid! Why didn't I show her the helmet first? Why? Why?" He remembered blankly staring at it in the lobby, so overwhelmed with emotion that he could only express himself with a numb grimace. There was no way to express this intense sadness he felt. He hoped deep down that it had al been a horrific nightmare, but he knew well it was. He had seen Misty's mangled corpse and knew too well that it was real.

~0~

Ash snapped back to the moment. He was kneeling in the grass by Misty's gravestone. A silent tear escaped his eyes. Going to Misty's grave reminded Ash that he had to keep on trying, keep on searching for a way to meet her, to talk to her from beyond the black curtain of death. It kept him going when all seemed lost. "I can do it. One way or another, I'm going to bring you back, Misty." Ash said to himself. It was the same words he had said long ago, the first time he decided to search the world for a way to bring back the dead. He repeated it every time he came here. The first time he said them, he felt like a mad scientist or some kind of occultist. He felt crazy. Now it was simply his mantra, the words forever repeated on this mad quest.

Ash picked up Pikachu and put him on his shoulder. "Come on. We can't stay here forever." He said. With a heavy heart, they left the cemetery for the wandering streets of Cerulean City.


	3. The Myth of the Sword

Chapter 3

The Myth of the Sword

Ash was sitting on a tree stump in the road, aimlessly thinking about how he could contact Misty. Although he rarely used it anymore, since he had long ago given up on pokemon battling and trying to catch anything, he kept his old pokedex around as a memento of his time on the road. Ash was scanning through the entries, reading every one of them. It was here that he found his inspiration.

Ash turned to the pokedex's page on Yamask. "Yamask: The Spirit Pokemon. Yamask is a ghost type with the ability to neutralize other pokemon's powers with its Mummy ability. Yamask are strong defensive pokemon when used in battle. Each of them carries a mask that used to be its face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry."

"So, is that it? Do we all become a Yamask when we die?" Ash asked himself. An idea entered Ash's head. "Maybe I don't need to look into all this stuff about séances, and mediums, and metaphysics. Maybe this whole thing is as simple as summoning a pokemon?" Ash said.

He went to the Cerulean City library. He walked up to the librarian, a blue-haired woman named Margot whom Ash had grown to know over the years. She was used to him asking for strange books and spreading his unique brand of crazy everywhere he went.

"Sorry, Ash, we don't have any new books on occultism or black magic or anything like that." Margot smiled. "Well, that's okay. I'm not looking for that right now. I'm looking for a way to summon pokemon." Ash said. Margot looked at him, and put her face in her palm. "Ash, you don't need any black magic or anything like that to summon pokemon. You just go outside and there they are." Margot said. "No, not just any pokemon, a specific pokemon, one with a name that I used to know." Ash said. Margot lightly laughed at him. "Oh, there are a lot of people looking for their lost friends out there. No one's really figured that one out, not with science, not with magic, not with anything. The best you could do is ask the police and they might file a missing pokemon report." Margot said. "Ah, the police would never take me seriously." Ash said. Margot could not deny that. Ash was just another dirty vagrant to them. "Well, we got nothing." Margot said. "Come on, Margot, I'll take anything, no matter how stupid or crackpot it is." Ash said.

Margot thought it over for a moment. "Well, I guess you could check the mythology section. The closest we got are some myths about why pokemon come to you when you go out. Maybe you could use that as a starting point." Margot said. "Aw, thanks. I'll be right there." Ash said.

Ash perused through the old mythology books. Most, when talking about why pokemon come to people, simply repeated this old myth:

Long ago, when the world had just been

made, Pokémon and humans led

separate lives.

That is not to say they did not help

each other. No, indeed they did.

They supplied each other with goods,

and supported each other.

A Pokémon proposed to the others

to always be ready to help humans.

It asked that Pokémon be ready to

appear before humans always.

Thus, to this day, Pokémon appear

to us if we venture into tall grass.

"Oh, come on, there has to be more to it than that!" Ash said. He kept looking through the mythology section, until he found an old beat-up copy of a book called "Of Swordsmen and Sorcery". Its pages were tattered and yellowed with age, its binding broken. It was not even stored properly. It had to be more than one hundred years old. It lay flat on the bottom of the shelf with its spine facing inwards. Ash had to remove six other books just to get it out, almost as if someone _wanted_ to keep him from reading it.

"Well, this is it. If any of these are going to have anything different, it's this." Ash said. He opened up the book and slowly, gently perused its pages. He felt like t would fall apart in any minute. As he went, he found a myth containing what he was looking for, a story about how to summon any pokemon, The Myth of the Sword:

A young man, callow and foolish in

innocence, came to own a sword.

With it, he smote Pokémon

with carefree abandon.

Those not taken as food, he

discarded, with no afterthought.

The following year, no Pokémon

appeared. Larders grew bare.

The young man, seeking the missing

Pokémon, journeyed afar.

Long did he search. And far and wide,

too, until one he did find.

Asked he, "Why do you hide?"

To which the Pokémon replied,

"If you bear your sword to bring

harm upon us, with claws and

fangs, we will exact a sacrifice.

"From your kind we will take our

sacrifice, for it must be done.

"Done it must be to guard ourselves

and for it, I apologize."

To the skies, the young man shouted

his dismay.

"In having found the sword, I have

lost so much.

"Gorged with power, I grew blind

to Pokémon being alive.

"I will never fall savage again.

This sword I denounce and forsake.

"I plead for forgiveness,

for I was but a fool."

So saying, the young man hurled the

sword to the ground, snapping it.

Seeing this, the Pokémon disappeared

to a place beyond seeing.

He followed, and was never again heard from.

But his broken sword carried a strange power.

Those who held it,

could attract whatever Pokemon

their hearts desired.

The broken sword was a symbol of peace

for mankind and Pokemon alike.

Those who desire peace

are drawn to its presence.

Ash looked at the text, trying to make sense of it all. "Well, if I can just find a piece of that broken sword…" he said to himself. Images raced through his mind of wandering the land looking through museums and dusty old ruins. "No. That could take a lifetime. I need Misty now." Ash said to himself. "I don't need to find a piece of the original sword. I'll make my own." Ash said.

Ash set out to a novelty store in Cerulean City's shopping mall. It was a dirty little store that very few people ventured into, full of statues, strange shaped vases (actually bongs, but Ash didn't know that since he was never really into drug culture), anime videos (mostly tentacle hentai), leather clothing, and yes, knives and swords.

Ash walked up to the clerk, who smelled of rancid marijuana. "Hi. I need a sword." He said. The clerk rubbed his eyes. He had been staring off into space, thinking deep thoughts, almost a kind of meditation. "Uh, what kind you want, man? We have replicas of the Zelda sword? You like Zelda, right?" The clerk asked. Ash looked at his wallet. He didn't have a lot of money. He had been effectively homeless for the last few years, surviving on handouts and the occasional visit back to his mom for a little bit of money and a warm meal and bed when he needed it most. "Um… I just need a sword. What's the cheapest one you got?" Ash asked. "Well, we got these medieval style daggers for…" Ash cut him off. "Not daggers, a sword." He said.

The clerk took him over to a jet-black machete. "This is it. It's called 'The Zombie Slayer', made for surviving the world eventual zombie apocalypse. You preparing for when zombies come around?" He asked. Ash silently scoffed at the idea. Everyone knew zombies weren't real. Still, it seemed a cruel irony that he would use a sword built to slay the dead in order to bring them back. "Yeah… Zombies… Sure. I'll take it."

As Ash walked out of the mall, carrying his new machete in a plastic bag saying "Thank you for shopping" on it, he mentally went over everything he needed to do. He thought to himself, "Kill pokemon, go to the place unseen, smash the sword, take its shard." It was easier said than done. Ash knew he would have to do some terrible, nasty things now, but if it meant he could be with his beloved Misty again, he felt it would all be worth it. For her, he would do anything. _Anything._


	4. What Must Be Done

Chapter 4

What Must Be Done

Ash was out in Viridian Forest, one of the first places he had ventured through when he was young. He held his machete at his side, looking like just another explorer ready for the thicker part of the forest, where a machete might be needed to cut away trees and vines. The first pokemon he came upon on his search was a caterpie. A small nostalgic pang came upon him. One of the first pokemon Ash had ever caught was a caterpie. With a heavy heart he said, "Well, I guess I have to do this."

Pikachu ran to Ash's side, thinking this would be a pokemon battle, something Pikachu hadn't done for a long time, but he still remembered the basics. Ash held Pikachu back. "No, Pikachu. I'll handle this one." He said.

Ash held his machete high, and brought it down on the caterpie's back. In a single stroke, the bug pokemon was cleaved in two. Pikachu gasped in shock as the caterpie's yellow blood and gooey insides oozed from its wound. Ash looked at it. "God, what have I done?" He said to himself. He looked at his machete. "Well, the myth said he killed a lot more than one pokemon. I'll have to do this again, won't I?" Ash said to himself. Pikachu looked up at him with sad eyes. If he could speak, he would have said, "Master, stop. You're becoming a monster." Ash knew from the look on his face that this was what Pikachu meant.

"Pikachu, I'm doing what I have to do." He said. His words lacked his usual strong conviction, though. Even he wasn't sure this was a good idea. Pikachu squeaked in disapproval. "I don't care. I'll do anything for her. Even this. If I have to become a monster to have her back, then I'll be a monster."

Ash moved on through the forest. He ventured deeper into its labyrinthine paths and overgrown bushes. Soon, he came to a small clearing, and found a raticate. "Well, here goes." Ash said to himself. At that moment, Pikachu jumped in front of Ash, again, trying to start a normal, _non-lethal_ pokemon battle. Again, Ash turned him away. "Stand back, Pikachu. I don't want you to get hurt." Ash said. Again, Pikachu backed down, but not before giving his master a sad, disappointed look. It was not disappointment in a missed opportunity to fight. It was disappointment in Ash himself, and his willingness to do such an awful thing. If Pikachu could talk, he would have said, "I expected better of you, Master."

Ash snuck up behind the wild raticate, and sliced off its head with a single chop. Unlike caterpie, raticate's blood was red, like that of a human's. Ash felt sick, seeing what he had done. He did not hesitate, though. He had decided that if this is what he must do to bring back Misty, then it will be done.

Moments later, the wild raticate's brother came upon the grisly sight. Seeing Ash standing with a bloodied machete over his slain kin sent the rat into a frenzy. It leaped up and snapped at Ash's neck. "Augh! Get off!" Ash screamed. He pushed the second raticate to the ground, and chopped it in half. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ash thought over these events. "Well, the myth said he killed until no pokemon would come forth. I guess I haven't killed enough."

The next few hours were a blur of blood and blood and death. Grimly, tirelessly, Ash cut down any wild pokemon he could find. Rarely did Pikachu intervene. The electric mouse knew at this point there was no reasoning with Ash when he was like this. The blood flowed like a fountain, and the bodies piled high. Pidgey, Weedle, Rattata, all fell dead on Ash's mad mission.

Near dusk, Ash noticed that no pokemon would appear as he wandered the forest. He saw a single weedle in the distance, and it ran from him on sight. Ash smiled. "Well, I didn't think I'd have all this done in just one day." He wandered to a secluded spot, Pikachu still at his side. "Now to break the sword!" Ash said. He could barely contain himself. He placed the tip of his machete's blade on a rock, and slammed his foot down on it with great force. The cheaply made sword snapped into two jagged pieces.

Ash victoriously held the pair of broken shards high. "Yes! It's done!" He called out. "I call forth, Misty the Yamask!"

Ash stood there expecting a yamask to appear. He waited. Then he waited some more. Ash wondered if this accursed sword thing was real at all. He tried calling upon a different pokemon. "I call forth, ummmmm, magikarp?" Ash said. In a flash of blinding white light, a magikarp materialized in front of Ash, flopping helplessly on the ground.

Ash was puzzled now. "Why did it summon magikarp, but not Misty?" He asked himself. He kicked the magikarp aside and sat down on the forest floor, thinking the whole thing over. He repeated, "Why could it summon magikarp, but not Misty?" Pikachu, like he always did when Ash was feeling troubled, walked over to ash and rubbed his soft yellow fur against his hand.

Ash sat there for nearly an hour before he suddenly got a terrible, evil idea. "Maybe… Maybe it's because Misty is more than just a pokemon. Maybe the cursed blade needs life from a human to summon a human?"

Pikachu's blood ran cold upon hearing his master say such a thing. It squeaked and squealed in distress, as if to say, "Surely, you wouldn't do such a thing, Master… Right?" Ash ignored his friend's pleas. He stood up, and ventured back to the main paths in the forest, the well-worn roads travelers frequented. Slowly, quietly, he stalked the sidelines searching for a victim. Soon, he came upon a young teenage girl building a little fire for the night in a clearing. Ash approached her with caution.

Pikachu looked up at Ash as if to say, "Surely you wouldn't… ?" Ash glared back at him. "You can't stop me." He whispered. Pikachu gave him a look of disgust, pure disgust. Pikachu wanted nothing to do with this. He reached up to Ash's belt and grabbed one of the pokeballs. For the first time in years, Pikachu went back into his pokeball.

This bold act did not deter Ash in the slightest. He edged slowly onward toward the girl's campsite. Then, he accidentally stepped on a twig. The girl he was sneaking up on heard it, and rushed to Ash's location. "Eek! You… Oh, I thought you were from Team Pl… um… never mind. You're just a silly dirty man." She said. Ash put on a fake smile. "Oh, sorry to scare you. I was just passing through." He said, rubbing the back of his head. "See, I'm out here with my boyfriend and these creeps from Team…"

Ash wasn't listening to her anymore. All he heard was "…with my boyfriend…". Somebody loved this girl, maybe even as much as he loved Misty. "No, can't be. I loved Misty more than anyone else could love anything." He thought to himself… But he quietly wondered if he could really kill someone else's beloved so that he could have his own?

Ash quickly pushed those thoughts aside. "I'm willing to do anything for her. For Misty!" He said to himself. He grabbed the girl by the hair and pulled her down to the ground. "Eek! What are you doing?" The girls screamed. Ash did not answer her. He pulled a shard from his broken machete from his back pocket and sliced into the girl's chest. All he managed to do was cut the fabric on her shirt.

"What the hell are you doing, you freak?" The girl screamed. Ash raised his blade. Slice. She fell to the ground, bloodied. "Help! Help! This dirty old man, he's… Help!" She screamed. He pulled her by the hair again and wrapped his arm around her mouth. "Shut up." He said. The girl bit into his flesh, and although Ash flinched a little in pain, he kept his grip tight. The girl wiggled and kicked and bit, and swing at Ash's groin, but he was too determined. Again, he plunged the shard into the girl's chest. This time, he hit the heart, and she fell limp. Ash had killed a girl.

Moments later, a boy could be heard stumbling, rushing through the brush. "Marion? Marion? Did you scream?" He called out. "Shit, it's the girl's boyfriend. I gotta get out of here." Ash said to himself. He ran a little ways away, and heard an anguished scream behind him. "I'm going to get whatever bastard did this!" He heard behind him. Ash ran a little more, before getting out a pokeball. He got out Pidgeot, now that he was sure he was far enough that Pidgeot wouldn't see the dead body. He wouldn't want Pidgeot to judge him at a time like this, even though he _was_ covered in blood now.

In an instant, Pidgeot appeared before him. "Pidgeot, we're in deep trouble! Fly me home!" Ash commanded. Pidgeot had no idea what was going on, but saw his master covered in blood, and recognized the severity of the situation. Ash jumped on Pidgeot's back and they flew all the way to his mom's house in Pallet Town.

Ash quickly darted in the back door before his mother could see him. He immediately stripped off his bloody clothes, put them in the washer, and turned it on. Then he took a shower and shaved. He needed to look nice and clean for Misty. Actually, he needed to look clean for if the police came by. They would be looking for a dirty old man, not a clean but sort of rough looking young man. Ash was secretly glad that being dirty made him look a lot older than he actually was.

After getting dressed with some spare clothes he kept in his room, which his mom kept nice and tidy for the rare times he visited, Ash got out the shard he had killed the girl with. Barely able to contain his excitement, he said, "I call upon… Misty the Yamask!"

In a bright flash of light a small, sad looking ghost pokemon appeared in front of Ash. It was a yamask, one carrying a little mask with a girl's face on it. Ash looked at the face. Sure enough, it was Misty's. "Misty! It's really you! Misty, I found you!" Ash shouted. Overjoyed, he gave the yamask a deep, long embrace. Tears of joy ran down his face. "Misty, you have no idea what I've been through to find you. You… You wouldn't believe any of it, it was so awful." Ash hugged tighter. "I never want to let you go, Misty. Never again." Ash said. He expected Misty to say something, anything back to him, but she remained silent.

"Misty, say something? Misty?" Ash said. The yamask let out a short, sad wail. "Oh, that's right, you're a pokemon. Most pokemon can't talk." Ash said. He took Misty's hand, but it was cold and clammy with death. Ash sat down and set Misty on his lap. He started to cuddle, but his mind was still occupied. He began to give Misty a long, deep kiss, but stopped. "Misty, it's not enough to just have you here. This isn't right." He whispered in the yamask's ear. Misty sighed in agreement. It sounded almost like a despaired moan. "I need you in your real body, the one you are used to, the one where you could speak, and walk, not some ectoplasmic ghost." Ash said. The yamask let out a high pitched moan, almost hopeful sounding. Its red eyes gleamed like dying stars. It gazed at Ash as if to say, "You would do that for me?" Ash smiled. "Misty, I would do anything for you. Anything."


	5. The Pact

Chapter 5

The Pact

Ash and the Yamask that was once Misty woke up to the sound of clinking dishes outside their room. Ash walked downstairs and saw his mom fixing up a small breakfast. "Sweety, I saw that you came home for a visit last night and decided to make you breakfast. Bacon and toast okay?" She said. "Aw, yeah, that's great, Mom. Thanks." Ash said. He sat down and grabbed a fork. "Oh, Ash, Sweety?" Ash's mom said. "Yeah?" Ash replied. Ash's mom turned her head 180 degrees around. Suddenly, the house was bathed in fire and darkness. The thing that once looked like Ash's mom slowly turned a deep shade of crimson and grew several feet taller. "Ash, baby…" The thing said. "Mom?!" Ash said. "Ash, you're a good boy. Now give me more souls."

Ash got up out of his seat and started to run toward the door, but the doors melted into darkness. He was trapped with the monster. "Ash, don't be afraid. I love you." The monster said. "What… What the fuck are you?" Ash screamed. The monster shrunk down to a tiny speck of light, a glowing ethereal wisp in the distorted darkness. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just like to trick people, that's all. I'm your new best friend, Balberith." The thing said.

"Balberith?" Ash said. "Yes, Balberith. You did a great thing, yesterday, Ash. You gave me what I desired more than anything else, and in return, I gave you Misty." Balberith said. "What? What are you talking about?" Ash said. Balberith giggled. "You didn't think that silly myth was true, do you? The one about the broken sword?" Balberith said. "I… I don't know. It seemed to work." Ash said. "That wasn't the sword's doing, Ash, it was me. You gave me slaughter, and in return, I gave you your beloved Misty." Balberith said. "What are you talking about? I didn't give anyone anything." Ash said. "Ha, that murder you committed yesterday was a sacrifice to me! That broken bade is your rite-knife and the ground itself is your altar! I gave you Misty because you show such promise as a servant, since you are so willing to do anything, no matter the cost. Now let's get down to business, Ash. If you want Misty in her proper human body, you're going to need to kill a lot more people." Balberith said.

Ash thought this over for a moment. "I… I… Um… I don't know if I can do that." Ash said. "Oh, but you can! Believe in yourself, Ash! Do you want Misty back?" Balberith said. "Y… Yes I do." Ash said. "Do you want her back with all your heart?" Balberith said. A single tear began to form in the corner of Ash's eye as he remembered what it was like the day Misty died. "Yes, with all my heart." Ash said. "Yes! You would do anything for the woman you love. You are like an angel sent to save Misty from cold death. You are my righteous angel, Ash!" Balberith said. Ash clenched his fist. "A righteous angel!" He said in agreement. Balberith's rhetoric was really getting to him. "Isn't Misty's life more important to you than some stranger? Didn't you already kill someone else's beloved for her?" Balberith said. "Yes… I did." Ash said. "Well, think of it this way, the more people you slay to bring Misty back, the more it shows how much you value her. If you kill five people, it shows that Misty is more valuable than five lives! If you kill ten people, she is more valuable than ten lives! Don't you see, Ash? This is all for Misty!" Balberith said. "I'll do it for her, then. I'll…" Ash's resolve finally solidified. "I'll do anything for her." Ash finished. "You're a good man, Ash. Misty is lucky to have you. Lesser men would have cowered at such a task." Balberith said. "I'm not great. I'm a sinner, but I sin for her. I'm lucky to have Misty." Ash said. "Right, whatever you say…" Balberith whispered.

Balberith and everything around him melted into darkness. Ash snapped back to reality. He found himself in bed next to the yamask that was once Misty cuddled up beside him. He found a note with instructions on it taped to his door. Ash quietly stood up so as not to disturb Misty. He whispered as he read, "Go to the hospital. Find the intensive care unit. Find rooms with life support machines hooked up to patients. Disable the alarms and unplug them." He read. They were instructions for easy kills left by Balberith. Ash looked at the paper, ten at Misty, and then at the paper again. He pulled out his wallet, and looked at a tiny photo of Misty from back when she was alive. "Anything… Anything for you." He said to himself.

Ash walked over to the sleeping yamask. "Misty? Misty?" Ash said. Misty awoke with a sad moan. "Misty, I'm going out. I don't want you to follow me, but I'll be back by dinnertime, I promise." Ash said. Misty let out another sad moan, and tugged at his shirt sleeve. "Don't go! I want to stay with you! I need you!" She wanted to say. "Misty, I need to do some rotten things today, but I'm doing them for you. You don't want to know, trust me, but they're things I have to do." Ash said. Misty let go of his shirt and let out a long, deep whimper. Ash hugged her tight. "I know, I know. I don't want to leave you either, even for a second… but I have to." He said.

Before he knew it, Ash was in Viridian City's hospital. He passed on Pallet Town's hospital since it was barely more than an emergency room with some beds. All the critical patients were sent to Viridian. He pretended to be just another visitor. He wandered to ICU, watching, waiting for an opportunity when the doctors and nurses weren't looking. He knelt at bedsides and silently prayed, as was common, but he prayed that the patients would find the death he would deliver peaceful, rather than the more common prayer for healing and wellness.

Ash found his first opportunity on a sleeping old woman that needed a machine to breathe for her. When he was sure no one was looking, he walked up to the machine, and pressed a button with a picture of a bell with an "X" over it. He had disabled the alarm. Then he reached down, and unplugged the machine. Ash quickly walked out of the room and went into another. He was able to do this three more times before a nurse noticed that one of the machines was unplugged. Ash quickly and inconspicuously left the hospital after that, deciding not to press his luck further.

"Well," Ash said to himself as he walked through the forest toward home, "I killed four people today." He slowly made his way back to his house, and to his surprise, found Misty on his bed. She had her yamask's mask next to her, and she was completely nude. "Misty!" Ash shouted as tears of joy ran down his face. "Ash! I… I don't know what you did, but this… You brought me back!" Misty said. She was crying now too. Ash embraced her, squeezed her tightly, so tightly it almost hurt. "Ash… Ash… You did it. You…" Misty's skin began to grow pale and sickly. She winced in pain. "Oh god! Oh god! What's happening?" Misty said. Ash took a step back and gazed in horror as Misty rotted alive. Her skin sloughed from her flesh. Her flesh fell from her bones. Her bones clattered to the floor and disintegrated into dust. Then, the yamask's mask glowed. It floated into the air and the yamask that was once Misty materialized.

Ash was outraged. "What?! What the hell was that?" He screamed. Misty looked at herself and wept. Ash stomped his foot. "I demand answers, damn it!" He screamed. In an instant, a white flash of light engulfed the room. As the light faded, it formed into a single point, Balberith. Misty moaned in fear. "Ash, I'm so sorry, don't be alarmed. I did the best I could." Balberith pleaded. "The hell you did! I just watched Misty die all over again!" He grabbed Balberith in his hand like he was going to squish him in his fist. "Do you know how much that hurt? Do you?" He said. He then pushed Balberith toward Misty, who was cowering in fear now. "And think for a second about how Misty felt, huh? She had to die, after you gave her a moment of life! One fucking moment! That's all she got! You took her hopes and smashed them, you sick fuck!" Ash screamed.

Balberith tried his best to sound intimidated by all of Ash's rage and spectacle. "Well, Ash, listen, you only killed four people. That's not really a lot for me to work with." Balberith said. Misty looked up at Ash and moaned with sadness. Ash looked back. "Yeah, Misty, that's what I did. I killed people for you… And I'd do it again. Anything for you." He said. The yamask looked at the floor. "And besides, Ash, those people didn't have much life in them. They were all old and sick, ready to die anyway. I can only move around life, not make it out of thin air. I'm not a god, you know." Balberith said. "So… I have to kill younger people if I want to spend more time with Misty." Ash said. "Yes. Exactly." Balberith said.

Ash let go of the death grip he held on Balberith. "I'm sorry I got mad at you. You're a really great… whatever you are… Thanks for doing all this for me." Ash said. "Not a problem, it was a simple misunderstanding. I completely see where you were coming from, Ash." Balberith said. Ash took Balberith in his hand again, this time as a loving friend. "I can't thank you enough for this opportunity you've given me, Balberith. I promise, I'll get Misty enough time to stick around longer tomorrow." He said. If Balberith had a mouth, he would have smiled. "I'll supply you with all the information and materials you'll need. You just do the running around. I'll have you and Misty in each other's arms again tomorrow night, I swear." Balberith said. With that, he disappeared into thin air.

Ash turned to Misty. "You hear that? Tomorrow night. We'll have it all together again by tomorrow night, just you wait." He said. Misty let out a hopeful moan. She did not yet fully understand what was going on, but she knew one thing: That moment she spent as a human again was that happiest she'd been in years, and she wanted more than anything to do that again. It was also the happiest she had seen Ash, and she could hardly stand to see what a wreck he had become, a sad meandering shell of a man. She would do anything for him to be happy as well. She was with Ash one hundred percent. "Whatever it takes." She thought to herself. "Whatever it takes."


	6. All-Consuming Love

Chapter 6

All-Consuming Love

The next day, Ash did not wake up until it was fifteen minutes past noon. Ash's mom had not disturbed him from his sleep, figuring he probably needed the rest. She was right, but she did not know how right she was. The last couple days had been insanity.

Ash found a note left by Balberith taped to his door again. "Look under you bed. At night, when everyone is asleep, go to a hobo camp outside Vermillion City. They are all junkies and outcasts. No one will miss them." The note read. Upon looking under his bed, Ash found an automatic handgun, a TEC-9 with a small combat knife attached. Ash was intimidated by it at first. He had never really used a gun before, but then he looked at Misty. He saw her sleeping as a yamask. Her face looked so sad and distraught. Ash sighed. "How hard can it be?" He asked himself.

After a quick bowl of cereal, Ash spent the day wandering around Pallet town with Misty. He took her to a park where you could run and play with your pokemon. Most of the people there had pet type pokemon like growlithes and meowths. They tried not to stare as they watch him stroll with his melancholy specter. Misty was somewhat aware that they didn't fit in. She whimpered a little when small children ran from them and their parents stared in disgust. One particularly bold mother walked over and said, "Your yamask is scaring my daughter! Take it somewhere else." Ash closed his eyes and turned his head down. "Fine."

Ash showed Misty the ice cream stand he always went to when he was a kid. He tried to feed her some, but the treat would not stick to the yamask's ectoplasmic tongue. Misty grew sad and moaned distraughtly. "I'm sorry, Misty. This date isn't really working out as planned." He said. Misty quietly whimpered and nuzzled Ash. "Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here for you." Ash said. He took the yamask's face in his hands and started to kiss it, but its lips were as icy and cold as death itself. Worse still, to Misty, Ash's lips burned like an inferno. They backed away from each other quickly. Ash took Misty home to just relax in private. He knew at that point there was no going back. He had to have Misty as a human again. This yamask body was hopeless.

Late at night, after his oblivious mother had gone to sleep, Ash took the TEC-9 from under his bed and concealed it inside his jacket. He walked out to the street, and pulled out a pokeball. "I choose you, Pidgeot." He whispered. Pidgeot appeared in a flash, standing at attention ready for duty. "Pidgeot, I need you to take me to Vermillion City near the outskirts. Be quiet about it too. I just have some quick business with some old men there, nothing big. We just need to be in and out, quick and quiet, got it?" Ash said. Pidgeot cooed and nodded in understanding. He did not have the heart to tell Pidgeot just what he intended to do.

It was only a short flight. Ash arrived on the outskirts and slowly, stealthily walked to the shipyard were the homeless men and women slept. They had a small shantytown built from rubbish. A lone man, dirty and covered in scars, sat tending to a fire inside a metal trash can. Ash approached. "Sonny, you here cause you got nowhere else, huh?" The hobo said, immediately noticing Ash. For a tired old man, the hobo still had surprisingly acute senses. "No thanks, I'm just visiting." Ash said. The hobo looked left, then right, as if checking to see if the coast was clear. "You here for some smack?" He asked. Ash sighed. "Nope. I'm not into drugs. Never was." He said. Ash circled around behind the man. "Well, then, what are you here fo…" He stopped speaking when Ash drew his TEC-9.

The hobo stared in terror, at first. Then he saw that Ash's hands were shaking, his breathing heavy, his heart racing, his palms sweating. The hobo giggled and got out his improvised stabbing weapon, a toothbrush with a handle sharpened to a deadly point. "You're not brave enough for that, are ya, punk?" He said. He approached, brandishing the toothbrush like a knife. Ash squeezed the trigger. Several bullets went into the hobo, several hitting him straight in the heart. He was killed in an instant.

The shantytown was stirring now. They woke up like a swarm of angry insects, searching for what had awoken them. They saw Ash. They saw the smoking TEC-9. They got out their knives. "You here to start something, kid? We hobos look after our own." An old man said, edging toward Ash. He was not deterred by the TEC-9 in the slightest. Ash was filled with fear now. This was far more than he bargained for. Panicking, he squeezed the trigger again and sprayed bullets everywhere. The mob fell back for a moment. Several bodies fell to the ground. Screams of outrage echoed through the night, and the mob grew ever more vengeful. They encroached upon Ash like a pack of wild hyenas.

Ash sprayed another round of bullets into the crowd. Some of them died. He soon realized the sad truth that there were still a lot of them and he was all out of bullets. He only had a single clip to shoot them with. "This is what the knife's for, I guess." Ash thought to himself. With a howl, a large tattooed homeless man charged Ash with volcanic fury. Ash narrowly sidestepped the attack and jammed his combat knife into the man's chest. It perfectly pierced his ribs, as if by magic, and killed him in a single blow. More hobos came at him. Ash knew he could never fight them all. He ran.

After a couple seconds he got out his pokeball and brought out Pidgeot. "Pidgoet! Things went really bad, really fast! Help!" He shouted. Pidgeot swooped behind Ash, and flapped his wing with all his might. Gale force winds swept the hobo army off their feet and bought Ash just enough time to jump onto Pidgeot's back. They quickly flew away, but not before Pidgeot caught a glimpse of the massacred bodies left behind. Pidgeot cooed disapprovingly, as if to say, "Master, what _really_ happened here?" Ash did not answer. Pidgoet cooed again. "Do you really want to know, Pidgeot? Do you? Is it that fucking important to you?" Ash said, nearly hysterical. Pigeot fell silent. Ash immediately felt bad for yelling at his most faithful pokemon. "I'm sorry, Pidgeot. I've just been under a lot of pressure lately. I almost got killed back there. Thanks for saving me." He said. Pidgeot cooed again, this time sympathetically. "Look, Pidgeot, I… I'm mixed up in some really nasty business right now, but it's all for Misty, I swear. It's all for a good cause." He said. Pidgeot merely nodded his head. He did not approve, but would remain loyal to his master, no matter what. It was a pokemon's duty, after all, to stay loyal to their master for good or for evil, for better or worse.

When Ash arrived home, he practically ran to his room and again saw Misty sitting on his bed. Again, she was completely naked. "Misty!" "Ash!" "Oh Ash, I have so much to tell, you! Ash, I… I love you more than anything else, ever." Misty said. Ash held her tight in his arms. "The lengths you go to for me… All for me…" There were tears in her eyes. "Ash, you're the best, like no one ever was." Misty said. The Best. That's what Ash had wanted to be all along. The Best. Ash leaned in to give his beloved Misty a deep, long kiss. Misty slid her tongue into Ash's warm, wet mouth and massaged his tongue in a slow rhythmic pattern from back to front. It was the first time either of them had kissed like that since Misty's death. They felt together now, like a single soul in two bodies. When their mouths finally parted, Ash said, "Misty, I wanted to ask you something on that day, the day you…" "Don't say it. Don't say 'die'." Misty said. Ash took a deep breath and smiled. "Misty, I've been waiting far too long to ask you this. I want you to marry me." He said.

Misty was overjoyed. Again, with tears in her eyes, she said, "Yes, Ash, yes! You've made me the happiest girl in the world!" She said, holding him tight. The kissed again, but without the tongue this time. It was a deep locking of lips, a seal of agreement for this new arrangement. Their heads swam with all the happiness they could ever feel. The two of them wondered if this was dream, that things could not possibly go better than what was happening at that very moment. They took their hands to each other's cheeks and felt the warmth of each other's bodies. It was no dream. It was reality.

After that wonderful, blissful kiss, Misty leaned over to whisper something in Ash's ear. "Ash, I don't know how long I'll be like this, how long I'll be human. There's something I want to do while I still have this body." She said. "Is… Is it…um… _that_?" Ash said. Misty laughed. "You know what it is, you…" She said. Ash stuttered. "Ah… um…" This was a bit quick for him. Less than an hour ago he was fighting to the death with a smelly homeless man and now his fiancée wanted to have sex. "Oh, come on, Ash. I'm already naked." Misty said.

Ash nodded and started undoing his zipper. In no time his pants and underwear were around his ankles. He tapped his soft penis. "Come, wake up!" he said. Misty giggled. "Let me try." She said. Softly, she took Ash's cock in her hand. With her warm touch, it was ready.

The two of them joined together in ecstasy. Each kiss was like a piece of heaven was torn away from God and pushed into their loving mouths. Each pelvic thrust was like an ocean of passion crashing upon them like waves against a beach. "Oh Misty, I love you so much." Ash said. "This… This is… I want this to last forever." Misty said. They clutched each other's skin, grabbing each other's flesh to feel every inch of one another as they rolled on Ash's bed.

Misty was close to reaching her climax when she jumped back and doubled over in pain. "Misty! What is it?" Ash said. "Ah… Ah… It's happening again! No! Aiee!" Misty screamed. "No! No! This isn't happening! Not now!" Ash shouted with rage. Misty's skin began to evaporate. As she died again, she let out these soft, pained words. "We were so close, Ash. So close…"

Misty rotted alive and turned to dust in an instant. Soon, she rematerialized as a yamask again, bearing that same mask emblazoned with the image of her dying face. Ash pulled up his pants. "Balberith! You've got some explaining to do!" Ash called out to nothing in particular. In a flash of light, Balberith was there. Ash grabbed the little ball of light in his hand. "You! How could you let her run out of time when we were in the middle of… Of…" He couldn't finish his sentence.

Balberith feigned fear, for he had no true reason to fear Ash, but he knew it would make the man feel better if his rage was validated that way. "Ash, I can explain. I only had enough life to keep her around for a couple hours." Balberith said. "Bullshit! I murdered at least a dozen of those dirty creeps back in Vermillion! That should be way more than a couple hours." Ash said. "You don't understand, Ash. When you transfer life, you lose a lot of it in the transfer process. This…" Balberith was cut off. "Fine, whatever." Ash said. He let go of Balberith. "It's not your fault, I'm sorry I got mad at you again." Ash said. He clenched his fist. "It's my fault. I didn't give you enough life." He added. "Ash, you don't have to blame yourself for everything." Balberith said, trying to comfort him a little. "No, Balberith, this time it really was me. I don't care how many people have to die, next time I'm going to bring Misty back permanently." Ash said. If Balberith had a face, a grave look would have crossed it. "I'll… I'll see what I can do tomorrow." He said.

"Balberith, you're a great friend. After I lashed out at you like that and you're still willing to help me… Thank you." Ash said. "Oh, no, Ash. I'm lucky to have you." Balberith said. A thought crossed Ash's mind. "Just why are you helping me so much, anyway?" Ash said. "All in good time, Ash. All in good time. I'll tell you when you'd understand. Trust me, though, you'll love it." At that, Balberith disappeared in a flash of light. Ash turned back to Misty. "Misty, you're going to be back for good next time, I swear it." He said.

Ash woke up the next day and saw another note left for him by Balberith, a very long one. He read it aloud. "In Viridian City there is a nightclub called Club Viridian. They are not up to date on building codes. Their sprinkler system does not work and their doors open inwards, making escape from a fire difficult. They often go well over their building capacity of three-hundred people. Punish their lax attitudes toward regulations and the law, and you could have Misty for a whole day if the club is crowded enough. Long live Misty." Ash looked under his bed to see if Balberith had left him anything like when he found the TEC-9. This time there was an incendiary bomb. Ash sighed. "Well, if it's all for Misty…" He said.

Ash took a shower and went downstairs, where his mom was watching the news. "Hey, Mom. How's it going?" Ash asked. "All right, I guess. Just a lazy day." She said. Ash sat down with her. The news went on and on. Weather, sports, politics, then finally, a reporter showed up in Vermillion City. "Lita Long here in Vermillion City, where last night, an event that could only be described as a Hobo Bloodbath occurred." Ash looked at the TV. "Well, it looks like I made the news this time." He thought to himself. The camera panned over a bloodstained view of the shipyard, with several body bags and a multitude of police officers on the scene. "You were there when the crime happened?" Reporter Lita Long asked, holding her microphone up to a hobo's face. "Yeah, I sure was. First he came out and shot old Johnny by the fire pit. We all came out to do a good old citizen's arrest…" Ash scowled in his head. "That wasn't a citizen's arrest; that was just mob justice." He thought to himself.

Ash's mom looked at the TV shocked and appalled. "What is the world coming to?" She said to herself. She turned off the TV. "I'm going to get some fresh air." Ash's mom said. Ash stood up. "Yeah, I'm going out too. See you later, Mom." He said. "Bye bye, sweetie." Ash's mom said.

Seeing the grisly scene after the massacre made Ash feel a little uneasy. Even though Balberith had assured him that those hobos were scum and no one would miss them, a pang of guilt still rang through his body. Then he went upstairs to fetch Misty. Seeing her as a sad yamask removed any feeling of remorse he once felt. For her, anything was worth it.

Ash and Misty wandered the town all day searching for things they could do together. It was difficult since Misty couldn't eat normal food and was generally considered a creepy pest by most people. Eventually, they found a musical play to watch. They sat in the back corner where no one would see them.

That night, after dropping Misty off at home, Ash took a quick walk to Viridian City. Night had just fallen and the clubs were opening. He clutched the small bomb Balberith had left for him inside his jacket. He slowly walked the downtown streets, periodically checking a map, until he found his mark, Club Viridian.

There was a small group of people outside the club conversing with the doorman. He seemed to let most people come and go as they pleased. Sounds of loud music playing inside could be heard from across the street. Ash went to some bushes in the back, carefully planting the bomb near the back door exit. Suddenly, a worker came by. Thinking fast, Ash unzipped his pants and started trying to urinate in the bushes. "Hey, what're you doing back here?" The worker asked. "Uh, I just had to take a leak real bad. The men's room's full." Ash said, smiling awkwardly. "Oh. Yeah, getting crazy in there, huh? Ha ha! You know it's a good party when all the stalls are knockin', huh? You know, the old oo-ee oo-ee?" The worker said, laughing. "Was he implying people were having sex in the bathrooms?" Ash thought to himself. The worker patted Ash on the shoulder. "Carry on, bro. Party hard!"

Ash finished urinating. He had peed all over the bomb. "That was a close call. Ugh. I hope it still works." Ash said. He pressed the button to start countdown. Five minutes until destruction. Ash ran out into an alley. "Pokeball, go." He quietly said. Pidgeot came out. "Take me home." He said. In an instant, he was gone, quick as a flash. Ash would not be there to see the carnage unfold. He wanted to be with Misty.

Shortly after Ash left, an explosion rocked Club Viridian. Fire spread all through the small building. The crowds panicked and ran for the exits, but they pushed and fell and tripped on top of one another. Some, nearly ready to pass out drunk, were trampled before the fire or smoke got to them. Firefighters arrived on the scene minutes later with a squadron of wartortle and blastoise for backup. They shot strong jets of water into the blaze, but the bomb had done enough structural damage that the whole building was ready to collapse any minute. The firefighters couldn't really even enter the building due to the squirming mass of people clogging the door. "Shit, they're stacked up like boxes and crates. How do we get them out of there?" One of the firemen remarked. They pulled at them and tried to dislodge as many people as they could. Those people trapped in the door were just inches from safety! Black smoke overtook the scene and the firefighters could barely see through the hazy night. The squirming mass at the door slowly quieted down as most of those trapped passed out or died from the smoke. Moments later, the fire team leader called out, "It's coming down! Get back!" The roof of Club Viridian fell. More than two-hundred lives were lost in the span of less than an hour. In the shadows and smoke, invisible to the human eye, Balberith smiled.

Meanwhile, Ash rushed back home. Just as he had hoped, Misty sat nude on his bed, her yamask's mask resting on the floor. Ash was panting. Misty jumped up and grabbed him in her arms. Ash embraced her as well. "You did it, Ash! I'm human again!" Misty said. Ash smiled and kissed her deeply, their tongues swirling inside each other's mouths. "Now, how about we pick up from where we left off last time?" Misty said.

Slowly, Misty pulled down Ash's pants, exposing his hard, ready cock. "Oh, you're excited." Misty said. Ash laughed and laid down on the bed with her. They kissed, they writhed, they made love. They were the happiest they'd been in years. All those lonely nights, all those sad memories seemed to vanish. Afterwards, they cuddled and lay together in each other's arms. They never wanted to let go of each other, not for a moment.


	7. Chess With Death

Chapter 7

Chess with Death

It was nearly five in the morning, and Ash and Misty had stayed awake almost the entire time on their long, love filled night together. It was then that Ash heard unusual sounds outside. "Misty, you hear that?" He said. "What?" She asked. Ash peered out the window. A group of vans and trucks were rolling in on his street, parking outside his house. It was a SWAT team. "Shit, do you think they're here for us?" Misty said. He saw a police officer outside talking with his mom, who was in tears. "Yeah, I think so." Ash said. "Well, should we turn ourselves in? They Have us surrounded." Misty said.. "No way! They'll put me in jail for the rest of my life, in jail away from you, Misty! I won't let them keep me away from you!" He screamed. A devious smile crossed Misty's face. "Well, if we're going to take a stand, we might as well kill them for Balberith and give me a little more time as a human, right?" Misty said. "Yes! YES! Balberith, save us!" Ash called out. Misty looked under Ash's bed. "Wow, a rocket launcher and a couple handguns!" She said.

As took the rocket launcher in his hand and pointed it out the window toward the SWAT team. "Duck and cover!" A policeman screamed. Ash fired a rocket into a truck and sent fire and debris flying. Dozens of people died. Some of the SWAT team members fired their pistols back, but Ash ducked back to the floor next to his bed. He heard lots of heavy footsteps charging up his the stairs. They were raiding the house. He and Misty each took a handgun and stood on either side of the door. When the footsteps grew close, the two of them shot through the closed door. They heard a couple bodies fall on the other side before the SWAT team returned fire. Suddenly, Ash wasn't at home anymore. He was in a dark black space with dust and sand on the ground.

"What just happened? Where am I?" Ash screamed. Moments later, a hooded figure appeared before him. It was the grim reaper, Death himself. "Ash Ketchum, you are in a moment where you could very well die." Death said. A television screen materialized in front of Ash, showing him taking his last stand in his room, the frame frozen with bullets flying toward him, inches from his heat and his face. "And I'll have you know, Ash, that I'm mighty pissed at what you've been doing with Balberith." Death added. "Killing all those people?" Ash said. "No, you cheated me! Misty's soul belongs in a Yamask, and I was tasked with keeping her there! You made me look like a divine fool when you brought her back! Now, I challenge you!" Death shouted. "What are we going to do, play chess?" Ash said. "Ha, no. I play chess for fun. You pissed me off, so you don't get to play chess. Ash Ketchum, you must fight me in a three-on-three pokemon battle!" Death bellowed.

Death reached for his belt, which normally would carry an hour glass to use as a timer in chess games. This time, instead, there were three pokeballs there. "I choose you, Pawniard!" Death called out. One of Death's pokeballs flashed, and out popped an angry growling Pawniard. Ash reached for the pokeballs on his belt. There were three there, which was unusual. Last time he checked, he had given away all of his pokemon except for Pidgeot and Pikachu, meaning he was supposed to only have two. Ash wasn't sure what his third pokemon would be, so he went with the safe bet and chose Pidgeot.

"Pokeball, go!" Ash called out. In an instant, Pidgeot appeared, crowing majestically. "All right, let's show Death what we're made of! Pidgeot, use Air Cutter!" Ash commanded. Pidgeot slapped his wings together and sent shockwaves at Death's Pawniard. Pawniard was stunned, but was otherwise unaffected. Death dramatically pointed his skeletal finger forward. "Pawniard, use Night Slash!" He commanded. Pawniard rushed toward Pidgeot with dark energy coursing over the blades on its hands. "Pidgeot, watch out! Dodge it!" Ash said. Pidgeot flapped his wings and tried to fly above Pawniard's attack. Death growled. "Pawniard, Pursuit." He said. Pawniard suddenly disappeared and reappeared in mid-air front of Pidgeot. As it fell, it dragged Pidgeot down with it, slicing it as the crashed to the ground. Pidgeot still had plenty of fight left in him. He shook Pawniard off and flew up above the metal warrior. "All right, Pidgeot, give it all you've got! Dive bomb it with Brave Bird!" He called out. Pidgeot flew high and went into a dive. "Ha, you think that will work? Pawniard, ready yourself for Finalia Strike!" Death called out. Pawniard's body glowed a purple and red light. "Abort! Abort! Pidgeot, stop and use Gust!" Ash called out. Pidgeot gracefully pulled out of the dive and sent a gust of wind at Pawniard, knocking it down. "Now finish it off, Pidgeot! Use Drill Peck!" Ash commanded. Pidgeot landed on top of Pawniard and violently pecked it into submission. Pawniard was knocked out.

Death was enraged now. "Pawniard return." He said, calling Pawniard back into its pokeball. "Go, Bisharp!" Death called out. A tall, pointy bisharp appeared from another one of Death's pokeballs. "All right, Pidgeot, let's mix it up. Use Sand Attack!" Ash said. Pidgeot flapped his wings and kicked up sand into Bisharp's face. "Bisharp, Dark Pulse!" Death said. Bisharp held up its fist and shot a ray of dark energy through the dust cloud at Pidgeot. It was a direct hit. Pidgeot was knocked from the sky. "End it Bisharp! Finalia Strike!" Death shouted. Bisharp raised its bladed arm above Pidgeot's neck and glowed with red and purple energy. It brought the blade down and Pidgeot was burned in black fire down to a charred skeleton.

"Pidgeot, no!" Ash screamed. "Relax. Pidgeot is fine. He's still in your pokeball back in the land of the living. This will all just be a bad dream to him." Death said. Ash reached for his oldest pokeball, the one with the lightning bolt decal on it. "I choose you, Pikachu!" Ash shouted. He threw the pokeball with great force, and Pikachu emerged, full of vigor. "Just lie old times, pal. Time to battle." Ash said. Pikachu was more than happy for a traditional pokemon battle. He hadn't had a good scrap in years, and was itching to fight.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Pikachu screamed and let loose a white-hot arc of lightning. Death's Bisharp tried to block the attack with its metal arms, but Pikachu's electricity surged through. Bisharp's metal body heated up from all the raw energy in Pikachu's attack. Its feet began to melt to the floor. Bisharp screeched in pain. "Keep going, Pikachu! We got this!" Ash said. Death shook his head. "Bisharp, you fool! Don't just take it like that! Use Mirror coat!" Death commanded. Biasharp's eyes lit up, knowing he had not lost yet. With all his strength, Bisharp pushed his melting joint to raise his arms, revealing a reflective surface on his elbows. Pikachu's attack was shot back it at, knocking him down as he cried out in pain. Bisharp laughed coldly. His feet may have been melted, but he was still in the battle.

"Bisharp, use Dark Pulse!" Death said. Bisharp shot wave after wave of dark energy at Pikachu from his arms. "Pikachu, use Agility!" Ash commanded. Pikachu began running in a blindingly fast zigzag pattern around the battlefield. He was nearly impossible to hit now, especially against something as immobile as a partially melted Bisharp. "All right, Pikachu, use Thunder Tackle!" Ash commanded. Pikachu's body coursed with electricity. He ran at top speed toward his immobilized foe. Death laughed. "Bisharp, Sucker Punch!" He said. With dizzying speed and accuracy, Bisharp brought up its fist into Pikachu's face with a powerful uppercut just before he could make contact with his attack. Pikachu was sent reeling up and backwards across the field.

Ash looked worriedly at Pikachu as it got to its feet. "How could we be losing against an opponent with its feet melted to the ground?" He thought to himself. Then, he remembered an old trick he and Pikachu learned back in their youth that was perfect for this kind of situation. "Pikachu, do you still remember how to use Double Team?" Ash said. Pikachu smiled and nodded. He was a little rusty, but he could still do it. Pikachu stood tall and several illusionary copies of itself appeared. They encircled and surrounded Death's Bisharp. "Now, Pikachu! Use Thunder Tackle!" Ash said. "Stop them Bisharp! Stop them all!" Death said, panicking. Bishrp swung and slashed at the pikachus around him, but he only struck at illusions. The real Pikachu slammed head first into Bisharp, sending waves of electricity through the metal pokemon's body. The force of the blow smashed Bisharp's ankles as its feet broke off and it fell to the floor, screaming.

"Bisharp, return." Death said, with frustration. In a flash of light, Bisharp went back to Death's pokeball. He reached for the last pokeball on his belt. "I didn't expect to have to use this. You're very lucky to have lasted this long." Death said. Death opened the pokeball, and in a flash of light, his last pokemon appeared. "I choose you, Dusknoir!" Death called out. Floating before them was a large and round ghost pokemon with a single red eye in the center of its baggy, gaseous head. "Come on, Pikachu, we can take this guy! Use Thunder!" Ash said. Pikachu called to the heavens and summoned a wicked bolt of lightning from the sky. Dusknoir was hit, and caught on fire. The strange cloth-like material its body was made of was burnt and torn, but it seemed to feel no pain. "Dusknoir, use Draining Touch." Death said. With uncanny speed, Dusknoir rushed at Pikachu and squeezed it tightly in its fist. Pikachu screamed in pain as Dusknoir sapped its life force. Quickly, all of Dusknoir's tears and burns disappeared.

"Get it off! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash said. Pikachu zapped Dusknoir hard enough to break free from its grip, but was left panting and tired. "Dusknoir, use Earthquake." Death said. Dusknoir slammed its fists into the ground and sent shockwaves across the battlefield. Pikachu was knocked down and fell on its face. Dusknoir slowly made its way over to its fallen foe. Pikachu braced itself. "Dusknoir, use Finalia Strike!" Death commanded. Dusknoir's body glowed with black and purple light. It made a fist and struck Pikachu on the back. In a flash of fire and smoke, Pikachu was reduced to an ashen silhouette on the ground, its body completely destroyed.

"Pikachu! No!" Ash screamed. "One more to go, Ash. Ready to lose?" Death said. Ash growled. Seeing his best friend incinerated like that threw him off. Awkwardly, he reached for his last pokeball, unsure of what was inside. "Pokeball, go." He said. In a flash of light, a yamask appeared, the same one with Misty's face on its mask. "Misty?!" Ash said. The yamask nodded. It was Misty. "Isn't it sweet? You get to die together in a single battle." Death pulled a different yamask's mask out from under his cloak. It had Ash's face on it. "After I beat you both, you can be sad little ghosts together! How hopelessly romantic." Death taunted. Ash took a couple deep breaths. "All right, Misty, we can do this. This is just like any other pokemon battle. What kind of moves do yamasks learn again?" Ash said. Misty shook her head with a sad look on her face.

Death was growing impatient. "We battle now! Dusknoir, use Flame Wave!" Death commanded. Dusknoir's eye glowed red, and out shot out a wall of black fire that slowly advanced toward Misty. "Misty, watch out!" Ash said, unsure of what Misty was even capable of. Misty held out her mask like a shield. When the wall of fire grew close, a pink aura appeared around it, and the fire turned to dust. "What? What's the meaning of this?" Death said. Ash laughed. "Yeah, we might still be in this one. Misty, counter attack!" Ash said. Misty wailed in anger and shot a beam of fiery pink energy from her mouth. Dusknoir had a large round hole burnt into its body.

With all of her willpower, all of her mental might, Misty manage to talk, something few pokemon ever accomplished. "You… You leave us alone!" She croaked in yamask's low, sad voice. Death growled in anger. "Dusknoir, use Draining Touch!" He commanded. Dusknoir disappeared and reappeared behind Misty. It reached out to drain her life force, but instead drained forth more of that deadly pink energy. Dusknoir caught on fire and backed off. Even as its body burned, it still showed no sign of pain. "Misty, what did you do to him? What's going on?" Ash said. "It's the power of love, Ash. It makes us strong." Misty said.

Death stared coldly as the fire on his dusknoir faded, leaving its body tattered and torn. "The power of love? Really? You think that will save you? Suppose you do beat me, what then? You'll still be captured by the police and sent to court and judged for your crimes. Even then, you'll get locked up for good, maybe even executed, and then I'll be here again, and I won't go easy on you. There is no escape, no hope, Ash." Death said. "You're wrong, Death, there will always be hope! As long as I can feel love for Misty, I have hope, hope that I can be with her, hope that I can love someone as much as I love her, hope that my life is worth living, worth it for loving her!" Ash said. "Such sentimental rhetoric… You are a fool." Death said, coldly.

Death sprayed a Hyper Potion on Dusknoir, and most of its wounds were instantly healed. "This battle is far from over. Dusknoir, use Hypnosis." Death said. Dusknoir's eye began to swirl and spin, giving off a stupefying aura. Misty could not help but look into the eye and fall asleep. Death laughed. "Now, Dusknoir, use Finalia Strike!" Death said. "Noooooooooo!" Ash cried out. Dusknoir's body glowed with purple and red light. It balled its hand into a fist, and struck at Misty… Only, nothing g happened. Finalia Strike failed. Ash felt a wave of relief sweep over him. "What? How could that not work! You're cheating!" Death screamed. Ash laughed. "Finalia Strike is a killing blow move, isn't it?" Ash said. "Yes, it's my secret technique I teach to all my pokemon." Death said. "Think it through. Misty's already dead. You can't kill her again." Ash said. Death screamed out in frustration. His best move was useless on Misty.

Soon, Dusknoir's hypnotic spell wore off, and Misty awakened. Angrily, she charged up a beam of powerful pink love energy, and blasted Dusknoir to shreds. Though it could still fight, Dusknoir was badly wounded now. It lightly quivered as it recovered from the attack, the first sign that it felt any sort of pain at all.

"Dusknoir, use Earthquake!" Death said. Dusknoir punched the ground, sending powerful shockwaves at Misty. The waves of earth crashed uselessly on the pink shield of love around her. "Dusknoir, use Shadow Punch!" Death commanded. Black energy engulfed Dusknoir's fists. With a mighty heave, it pushed all the force it could muster into this one punch. Again, it crashed uselessly on Misty's pink shield of love. Mist counterattacked with another blast of energy. Dusknoir's body was nearly shredded now. It drooped and trembled as it floated above the ground, clearly near death, although not yet knocked out. Finally, Death used the last trick he had. "Dusknoir, Transform." Death said.

Dusknoir morphed into a cloud of shadows, and reconstructed itself to look just like Misty when she was alive. It was still in its current dying state, and this was reflected in how this illusionary Misty looked. The Dusknoir Misty had burns all over her body, and a broken leg. Some of her hair was scorched off, and one of her arms was mangled. She looked just like Misty after the motorcycle crash on the day she died, right down to every rip and tear in her clothing, every burned lock of hair, every bruise, every scar. This was not a coincidence. Death had planned this all along.

The Yamask Misty started to charge up for a final attack. As she did, the Dusknoir Misty looked up at the Yamask Misty and Ash. "You wouldn't really hurt me, would you?" She begged, with tears in her eyes. Yamask Misty looked to Ash. She wasn't sure what to do. Ash was ready to cry. "Stop it! Stop it!" Ash shouted. He walked over and stood between the two Mistys. "You win, Death. I concede. I can't bear to see Misty die again, and know it was my doing, even if it's only an illusion." Ash said. Death laughed. "Then meet your fate." Death said. He raised his scythe and struck Ash right in the heart. Ash fell down, dead. Back in the land of the living, Ash was struck in the head and the heart by police gunfire. He fell over, dead.

Death walked over to Ash's body with a new yamask's bearing Ash's face on it. He was about to affix it to Ash and turn him into a yamask, when, in a flash of light, Balberith appeared in front of Death as a living ball of light. "No, Death. He's mine." Balberith said. "What do you mean he's yours? I have orders from Arceus to…" Balberith cut Death off. "Your orders mean nothing. Begone!" Balberith bellowed. Balberith let out a bright flash of light from his ethereal body. Death was blinded and engulfed in searing pain unimaginable to any human. When he got to his feet, Ash and Yamask Misty were gone. "Damn you, Balberith! Damn you to hell!" Death powerlessly shouted.

~0~

Ash awoke from what felt like an eternity of slumber. He was in a cushioned wicker lawn chair in a sunny, sand place. The air was warm. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but he had on a small and primitive pair of shorts with a gold trim. He had a small golden crown upon his head. He didn't know where he was, but it felt warm and inviting. He looked over to his side, and saw Misty with him. She wore a golden tiara and a pair of sunglasses on her head. Her garments were mostly ornamental, golden accessories meant to accentuate her beauty more than cover her body, which they scarcely did. The two of them sat nearly nude in the sun. "Misty? Misty! Is that really you?" Ash said, almost hysterical. "Yes, Ash, it's me. Ash, are you all right?" Misty said. Ash wrapped his arm around Misty and smiled. "Never better. Never better." He said. He held her close and gave her a long, passionate kiss. "So, Misty, where are we?" He asked, glancing around him. He saw palm trees, vast expanses of desert, armies of slaves toiling away around them, fanning them with palm fronds, carrying giant urns full of water. "Ash, this is Babylon, our new home. Balberith brought us here?" Misty said. "Babylon?" Ash said, confused. "Yeah, Babylon. It's actually part of the underworld now. It was a city so sinful and depraved that God broke it off of the planet and banished it here. Go ask Balberith sometime, he can explain it to you." Misty said.

Ash stretched his arms and stood up. "Come on, Misty, I need to thank Balberith. We wouldn't be here without him." Ash said. "That's a great idea! Yeah, let's go!" Misty said. The two of them walked out of their rich desert villa to Balberith's temple in the sands below. They knew it was Balberith's Temple because there was a huge sign on it saying, "Balberith's Temple" on it. About one dozen slaves were inside, fighting each other to the death over and over for Balberith's amusement as he reanimated them again and again. Balberith's body was not a ball of light like it usually was. Now, he was goat headed humanoid that stood more than twice as tall as an ordinary man.

Balberith greeted his two visitors like they were old friends. "Ash! Misty! So good to see you today! How do you like your new life as Prince and Princess of our new district?" Balberith said. "Oh, it's wonderful! It couldn't be better!" Misty said. "It's great, Balberith, you've made my dream come true! But what's going on here, exactly? What's up with Babylon?" Ash said.

Balberith smiled. "Ash, for every being killed in my name, be it man or pokemon alike, they become a slave to me in the afterlife here in sunny Babylon. You provided me with hundreds of slaves, the people who suffer and toil eternally to make life here great for me and my favorite followers. You died for me, so you were technically my slave, but since you did so much for me, I rewarded you with freedom and power. You earned it." Balberith said.

Balberith walked out from his temple and led Ash and Misty back into their towering estate. He pointed out a window. "Look, there's the Hanging Gardens! Wouldn't you love to take a stroll through the flowers together?" Balberith said. He pointed out another window. "Over there's the Pleasure Temple, where you can make love in whatever romantic atmosphere you could ever want, and have any sex-toy built that you could imagine!" Balberith said. Misty giggled and softly touched Ash's exposed thigh. "I want to go there some time." She whispered. "Look, Ash! Even you're mother's here! She's a house slave, the head maid in your palace! You killed her when a piece of shrapnel went into her head when you fired a rocket into those police cars shortly before you died!" Balberith said, opening a door to Ash's living room. Ash's mom was there, wearing a light robe and a collar and chain around her neck. She was polishing a vase. "Hi, Ash. Hi Misty." Ash's mom said, smiling. For a slave, she was treated exceptionally well, compared to the others. "All of this is possible, Ash, all of this happened because of you." Balberth said.

All of this seemed a little fucked up to Ash, but with all the evil things he did before he died, he was just glad he ended up here and not some kind of hell. "You know, Balbeerith, I don't think this could have turned out any better. Thanks." Ash said. Balberith smiled. "That's all I ever wanted to hear." He said. Ash lifted up Misty in his arms. "Come on, Misty. We have a city to explore. Let's check out those hanging Gardens and then maybe look into that sex temple." Ash said. Misty Giggled. "Ooh, Ash."

Thank you for reading my story.

The end.


End file.
